John f



(No Model.)

J. F. PRENTIGE.

TOY.

No. 555,181. Patented Feb. 25, 1896.

gi /$7M UNTTEJD STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. PRENTICE, OF BROOKLYN, NElV YORK.

TOY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,181, dated February 25, 1896.

Application filed July 24, 1895. Serial No. 657,003. (No model.) i

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, J onn F. PRENTICE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toys, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to toys, and the object thereof is to prow'de a novel toy which will be amusing and entertaining to children, as well as those of mature years, and which is designedto illustrate the story of .Ionah and the lVhale.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section of a box or casing employed in the practice of my invention, and Fig. 2 a plan view thereof.

In the practice of my invention I employ a box or casing having the glass sides A and the glass ends 13 and a bottom 0, of any desired material, but formed preferably of wood, and the casing may also be provided with a transparent or glass cover I), and this box or casing is so formed as to constitute a water-tank, and is adapted to hold water under all conditions.

In the practice of my invention I fill the tank to approximately near the top with water and place therein a figure E, which rep resents awhale, and which is preferably from one-half to two inches long, and is preferably formed of tin or similar material, and is hollow and air-tight so as to float in the position shown in Fig. 1, the mouth of the whale being open and the water-line being level with the inner portion thereof, as shown in said figure. I also place within the tank a figure F, which represents a man, said figure being also preferably formed of tin, and hollow and air-tight so as to float in the positi on shown in the drawings, and being preferably about one-half to three-quarters of an inch in length. This figure is so constructed as to represent, as nearly as possible, the position of a man when swimming, and placed on the under portion of the body thereof is a small piece of soft iron, as shown at G, and

in the innermost portion of the whales mouth is placed a small magnet, as shown at H, the idea being that when the whale is near the man the force of the magnet withinits mouth will draw the man within the same.

IVithin the bottom of the casing is a plug or stopper K, which is itself a magnet, which is more highly magnetized than the piece of iron in the mouth of the whale, so that when the tank is inverted and the head of the whale approaches the plug or stopper the magnet will operate to draw the man out of the whales mouth, and the tank being again inverted or placed right side up the magnet forming the plug or stopper will not be sufficiently strong to hold the man at the bottom and he will again rise to the surface, and when he comes in proximity to the mouth of the whale he will again be swallowed as in the first instance, when the operation hereinbefore described of inverting the tank will be repeated, to be followed by the second ejection of the man from the whales mouth as will be readily understood.

It is evident that changes in and modifications of the various parts which make up my improved toy may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages, and I therefore reserve the right to make all such alterations therein as fairly come within the scope of the invention.

The bottom C of the tank may be made of glass, if desired, and said tank may be of any preferred form, and the parts thereof united in any desired manner, and it is also evident that the figures employed may be made to represent other animals, my invention being not limited in this particular.

IIa-ving fully described my invention, I

claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a toy, tank, filled or partially filled with water, in which are placed two figures, one of which is smaller than the other, and adapted to enter the mouth thereof, the first of said figures being provided with a piece of metal, and a piece of magnetized metal being placed in the mouth of the latter, and a stronger magnet being secured at the bottom of the vessel, substantially as shown and described.

2. Inatoy, the combination with a tank, filled or partially filled with water, of two figures placed therein, one of which is adapted to represent a whale and the other a man, said figures being hollow, and adapted to float, and the man beingadapted to enter the mouth of the whale, said man being also provided with a piece of metal, and a magnet being placed within. the mouth of the whale, and said tank being provided at the bottom thereof, with a magnet which is stronger than the other, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention Ihave signed my name, in pres- I 5 enee of two witnesses, this 23d day of July, 1895.

JOHN F. PRENTlC-E.

Vitnesses:

A. M. CUSACK, O. GERs'r. 

